1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly, to a supplementary shelf assembly for a refrigerator which can be selectively mounted to and used in a storage space of the refrigerator.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, a plurality of shelf assemblies are provided in a storage space of a refrigerator. Storage articles to be stored in the storage space are put on top surfaces of the shelf assemblies. As such, the allowable height of the storage article which may be put on the top surface of each shelf assembly depends on the spacing between the shelf assembly and an upper shelf assembly provided just above the shelf assembly.
Thus, a supplementary shelf assembly mounted to be movable up or down is employed to effectively utilize a storage space between the adjacent shelf assemblies. FIG. 1 shows a conventional supplementary shelf assembly, which is disclosed in Korean Utility Model Application No. 1996-31517.
As shown in this figure, a storage space S is provided in a refrigerator body 1. Support protrusions 3 are provided lengthwise in a fore-and-aft direction along both sides of the storage space S. A main shelf 20 is provided in the storage space S. Both bottom side ends of the main shelf 5 are supported by the support protrusions, respectively. The main shelf 5 has a front and rear length equal to that of the storage space S.
A supplementary shelf 7 is provided within the interior of the storage space S above the main shelf 5. The supplementary shelf 7 is mounted to be movable up or down with respect to the main shelf 5. To this end, the main and supplementary shelves 5 and 7 are connected by means of a plurality of support members 9.
Both ends of the support members 9 are pivotally connected to both sides of the main and supplementary shelves 5 and 7 by means of hinge pins 10, respectively. The rotation of the support members 9 causes the supplementary shelf 7 to be lowered while being moved forward of the storage space S or to be elevated while being moved rearward of the storage space S, with respect to the main shelf 5.
Furthermore, the support member adjacent to a rear surface the storage space S is provided with a locking holder 11. The locking holder 11 may be selectively fastened to a locking protrusion 13 installed on the rear surface of the storage space S. The selective fastening between the locking holder and protrusion 11 and 13 causes the supplementary shelf 7 to be kept at or movable down from a state where the supplementary shelf 7 is elevated with respect to the main shelf 5.
That is, in a case where both the main shelf 5 and the supplementary shelf 7 are used, the supplementary shelf 7 is positioned above the main shelf 5 while being moved rearward in the storage space S and elevated with respect to the main shelf 5. At this time, the locking holder 11 and the locking protrusion 13 are fastened to each other, and thus, the supplementary shelf 7 is kept at its elevated position above the main shelf 5 corresponding to a length of the support member 9. In a case where the supplementary shelf 7 needs not be used, the locking holder 11 is unfastened from the locking protrusion 13, so that the supplementary shelf 7 is securely seated on a top surface of the main shelf 5 while being moved forward in the storage space S and lowered with respect to the main shelf 5.
However, there are the following problems in the prior art so configured.
As described above, the supplementary shelf 7 is elevated or lowered with respect to the main shelf 5 while being moved rearward or forward in the storage space S. Thus, there is a problem in that the storage area of the supplementary shelf on which storage articles are placed can be reduced, because the supplementary shelf 7 has a front and rear length that is relatively shorter than that of the main shelf 5.
Meanwhile, the supplementary shelf 7 elevated with respect to the main shelf 5 is kept at its elevated position due to the fastening of the locking holder and protrusion 11 and 13. Therefore, there is another problem in that the refrigerator configuration is complicated, because the structure used for maintaining the supplementary shelf 7 at a certain position, i.e. the locking protrusion, should be additionally installed on the rear surface of the storage space S other than the main or supplementary shelf 5 or 7.
Further, both ends of the support member 9 are connected to both sides of the main and supplementary shelves 5 and 7, respectively. Thus, due to the manufacturing tolerance of the support member 9 or assembling tolerance in the process of connecting the support members 9 to the main shelf 5 and/or the supplementary shelf 7, the support members 9 may be incorrectly rotated in response to the up or down motion of the supplementary shelf 7. Therefore, the operational reliability of the supplementary shelf 7 may be lowered.
As describe above, the supplementary shelf 7 are fixed by the fastening of the locking holder and protrusion 11 and 13. Thus, when relatively heavy storage articles are placed on the top surface of the supplementary shelf 7, the fastened locking holder 11 and locking protrusion 13 may be unfastened from each other. As a result, the supplementary shelf 7 may be inadvertently lowered.